Report shows how Lubbock hospitals stack up

University Medical Center’s patients are more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than the average patient nationwide, according to data released Wednesday by HealthGrades, an independent health care ratings organization.

UMC also has higher-than-average risks for sepsis, which is often caused by a hospital-acquired infection.

UMC, the county hospital, racked up “poor” survival rates in 11 medical areas studied in the 2010 report, which analyzed data from 2007-2009. UMC received five-star “better-than-expected” ratings in three areas, and three-star “as expected” ratings in 13 areas, according to the report.

Covenant Health System received five-star ratings in eight areas, three-star ratings in 17 areas and one-star ratings in four areas, the data show. Lubbock Heart Hospital received three five-star ratings, 11 three-star ratings and a single one-star rating.

The 13th annual Hospital Quality in America report analyzed death and complication rates at the nation’s 5,000 non-federal hospitals using 40 million records from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

No hospital can opt out and the mortality data is adjusted for the severity of the case — or how sick a patient was when he was admitted, according to HealthGrades.

Heart attack, stroke and sepsis were three of 11 conditions in which UMC showed higher-than-average death rates. The other categories were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); diabetic acidosis and coma; bowel obstruction; gastrointestinal procedures; pulmonary embolism; resection/replacement of abdominal aorta; respiratory failure; and coronary interventional procedures, like angioplasty with a stent.

The data is important because patients at five-star hospitals had a 72 percent lower chance of dying compared to one-star hospitals, according to HealthGrades. If all hospitals performed at the five-star level, 232,442 Medicare lives could be saved, HealthGrades reports.

UMC also under-performed in its kidney transplant program, an area in which HealthGrades did not assign stars.

Last year, UMC received poor ratings in 14 categories, according to Avalanche-Journal records. Fewer low ratings this year, as well as three five-star ratings, indicate the hospital’s efforts to improve patient care, said Greg Bruce, vice president for corporate services. The hospital’s own data, he said, better reflected the organization’s efforts.

“When we look at more recent data, we’ve been able to see a real-time improvement in 2009 and 2010,” Bruce said.

Part of the problem, he added, is HealthGrades data reflects how well patients fare when they go home, as well as their in-hospital care.

“The challenge with a patient who has a heart attack or COPD is 90 percent of their care is done outside of the hospital,” Bruce said. If UMC patients don’t follows doctors’ orders or can’t afford the drugs and medical equipment they need, that can reflect badly on the hospital, he said.

Lubbock Heart Hospital, which offers limited services, earned five-star ratings in heart failure, pneumonia and respiratory failure, 2010 data shows. Death rates for those with valve replacement surgery were above the national average one month after surgery, but crept up to the expected level by six months. Representatives from the hospital did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

“We are very pleased with the five-star ratings in things that happen to a lot of Medicare patients, like heart failure, stroke and pneumonia,” said Scott Robins, chief medical officer.

Covenant saw higher-than-average death rates in some coronary intervention procedures, bowel obstruction, prostatectomy — removal of the prostate gland — and pancreatitis. The hospital would use that data to improve its programs, Robins said.

HealthGrades also reported problems with Covenant’s kidney transplant program, which was shut down last year, Robins said.

Despite some problems, the majority of procedures at all the local hospitals were rated three-star (as expected) or above. That’s better than it sounds, Robins said.

“When you see a three-star performance, you tend to think of it as average,” he said. “But it’s not average, it’s really good.”

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for
following agreed-upon rules of civility. Posts and
comments do not reflect the views of this site. Posts and comments are
automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some
comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules,
click the "Flag as offensive" link below the comment.

One problem at UMC is the administrator! The day will come when the HSC will insist on it's own hospital - it's been done before, friends. When simple procedures are all that puts a facility in the "Best" category, something is very wrong; such serves not patient or the doctors. There certain are lacking in professionals with advanced training, and knowledge - especially in respiratory care but over all patient communications is non-existent over there, and that starts in the administrator's office.

This region has an increasing number of physicians that confined themselves to out-patient procedures only, yet want to remain board-certified surgeons, and GI is certainly one of them. It isn't worth the risk of using someone like that when colon cancer is an insidious and major killer.

TTUHCS could help change the mediocre and dangerous ratings in our hospitals by upping its requirements, and providing far greater over-sight on the daily progress of their medical students in clinics, and residents, instead of trying to churn our MDs/DOs in 3-years, and the S of N cutting it's requirements, as well. Excellence creates excellence.

Until the South Plains has baccalaureate grads coming in from other states to attend TTUHCS with high academic standing, and medical school graduates leave the state for their internships and residencies, this will not change!